Indian Senior Men's Football Team Gets Sports Psychologist For Entire Season

Indian senior men's football team gets sports psychologist for entire season (Image Source: IANS, Photo Credit: AIFF)

AFC Asian Cup 2023: Sports psychologist Shayamal Vallabhjee on Monday joined the senior men's national team in the National camp in Bhubaneswar, as it prepares for the Intercontinental Cup.

With the team having a busy schedule with the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru and other international commitments lined up after the Intercontinental Cup till the AFC Asian Cup 2023, the team management has for the first time decided to use the services of a sports psychologist to help them.

Vallabhjee has previously worked on the ATP Tour, with IPL franchises and professional golfers across the world, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) informed in a story on its website on Monday.

A renewed focus on mental health is among the Federation's driving objectives to not just maximise potential and performances, but also create an environment of trust and togetherness among players.

The addition of a sports psychologist will also address situations of burnout among players and ensure that they have recovery mechanisms available to them to work through it, the story said.

Head coach Igor Stimac is hopeful that Vallabhjee's addition to the staff will help the team in the longer run by 'creating a stronger team culture and a sense of belonging within the locker room', in addition to helping them develop strategies to deal with self-confidence, concentration, and nerves under pressure, as individuals and a team.

"We will start with understanding how each player's personality type responds to pressure and then go on to create a coaching mechanism that helps them become emotionally resilient to external pressure," said the Croatian coach.

"Conversations with a psychologist will provide the coaching staff a window into how every player absorbs information, which will then enable us to create communication strategies that optimise their learning," he said.

"Vallabhjee has experience in sports psychology and is here to help us improve on many points we haven't had time to work on before. Making player profiles will help the coaching staff communicate better within themselves and with the team," he was quoted as saying by AIFF.

Expressing excitement at his appointment with the National Team, Vallabhjee said that initial conversations with the players and the coaching staff had yielded positive results.

"Players are physiologically monitored on a regular basis, with every aspect of their physical well-being scrutinised and worked on. It is important to do the same for them psychologically. I am proud to be part of a new Indian Football project and hope to help them achieve success here," he said.